How to share files the easy way?

April 19, 20200

Back
in the day we had floppy discs, which were then replaced by CDs, then DVDs,
later on USB keys. Somewhere in between, first online file sharing platforms
began. With physical data carriers, there is more than one thing that could be
considered an issue. Remember the floppy discs? The capacity was extremely
small, but then again, in those times, so was the software. Also, unbelivably
unreliable. Moving on, all the other data carrying gadgets had to be given from
person to person, or at least sent via snail mail. And in these times, when
working from home and keeping distance from eachother is the norm, there must
be better ways to get files from one person to the other.

As
you might have seen in the paragraph above, online file sharing platforms
aren’t a new thing, the idea is about 20 years old, but back then, the internet
was also still slow, and maybe that’s why it was faster to have the files burnt
to a CD and snail-mailed them to the recipient. But we’re not here to discuss
the technology from the olden days, but to help you pick the ultimate file
sharing platform that will support your professional and private file sharing
needs.

Starting
with Dropbox, it’s the veteran of file sharing platforms, with a very simple
file sharing process. It’s a cloud-based cross platform, and known to be one of
the most reliable ones. Major bonus is also the fact that you can share the
file to anyone, even if they don’t have a Dropbox account. What might be
considered a let down is the limited free allowance, enabling you just 2 GB of
free storage. Other than that, sharing is easy, can be done through any OS, and
enables password protection too.

The
giant of all internet giants, Google, ofcourse has its own sharing platform.
It’s called Google drive and is very much in the same quality range as Dropbox.
The functioning is very straightforward and intuitive and you can get to it as
long as you have an internet connection. It works really well when sharing
files from Google Docs, Sheets and Slides and with other applications too. It
is also accessible from any mobile device, but it does offer 15 GB for free,
but that is including your Gmail account.

The
third one, that is definitely worth taking a look at is WeTransfer. It is a
very quick and convenient service, and unrelated to any other bigger platfrom
(like those two mentioned above). The simplicity of it lies in the fact that
you don’t need to create an account, just provide your email and recipient’s
email and pick the files you wish to share. Send the link and voila, you’re
done. The link stays active for a week, and you can ofcourse work with the
application through an app. The whole ordeal is free, but there’s a Plus
account available, it gives you more options regarding safety and download
limits, and also let’s you change the visual appearance of the application.

If
we’re climbing up the simplicity ladder, then Send Anywhere is definitely the
next step. Even more simple than WeTransfer, it enables you to send files
through the site via a code, URL link or e-mail. Also, all this functions are
available through the app as well. It will let you share files up to 10 GB in
size, and the link remains active for 48 hours. Ofcourse you can sign up too,
for some more goodies.

If
you’re looking for soemthing more business oriented, then Box is your go-to.
It’s similar to Dropbox, but a bit more businessy, combining file storage and
sycing with file sharing. You do, however, need to open an account and upload
the files into your very own cloud. From here, you then just create a unique
link with optional password and expiry date, and send it on its way. Other
people can also edit the documents (if invited ofcourse). There’s also desktop
and mobile sycing, and a very hefty 10 GB free storage space. This is just a
small part of the file sharing platforms available out there. If you do your
research and know what you need, I’m sure you will find something that will
satisfy all you data sharing needs.